Vintage Simplicity 5644 ~ Super Jiffy Bikini
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
I hope you all remember this little hidden gem I found thrifting several weeks ago. If not you can revisit my post here. I'm going to Florida in a few weeks so I was in a mad rush to get this cutie sewn up in time. I have about 4 other items in my sewing queue for the trip. We leave July 11th..do you think I can get it all done!?
Simplicity 5644 released in 1973. Misses Super Jiffy bikini and wrap and tie skirt. I always have to laugh when I see "super jiffy" because I know for me it's going to be anything but. I had several "Doh" moments when sewing this mainly because I was in a rush trying to make the jiffy part ring true. If I can offer up any advice when making a swimsuit...breathe and take your time!
I purchased my fabric online at The Fabric Fairy. I should note: You can purchase fabric in increments of .50 yards but the pricing listed is for a yard. I was confused and thought I was paying $10.49 for a half yard. yikes! Totally not the case. Fabric Fairy has to be my new favorite place for swimsuit fabric.
Ok first I wanna talk about the one thing that irks me with this pattern...the front and back crotch seams THAT are not apparent on the models bikini....
Yes I went there and blew up a crotch but I wanted you to see it for yourselves. Do you see any sort of seam on the front of her bottoms?? Me neither. Do you see the front and back seams on the line drawing? Yea me too. Why did they do that? I would of much rather had side seams like the model's as I would of liked to have had a continuous pattern across my ass instead of a half a flower that looks like my crack got hungry and ate the other half. Ah well, no one should be staring that hard to notice.
I fiddled with the sizing quite a bit. For the bottoms I sacrificed an old swimsuit (I needed the bra cups anyways) that I've had since college...Esprit brand...is that brand still around?? I cut the bottoms up and used as a template to gauge how much to grade my pattern down. On the pattern I sliced down the middle between the front and back seams and overlaped the pattern about 4 inches. This helped but I still had a lot of tweaking to do. This included a lot of basting and a lot of trying on about a bazillion times. The back seam had no curve to it, completely straight which if you take it in too much you risk exposing your butt cheeks. To avoid this I sewed a curve into the seam.
I didn't follow the directions at all when assembling the bottoms. For the leg and waist elastic the directions have you make a casing. I hate casings and ain't nobody got time for that. I simply sewed my elastic on the right side then flipped into the wrong side and sewed again, much like you do underwear elastic.
I must tell you of my first Doh' moment. I cut my elastic about 30% shorter than my leg opening (that's how it's done with the Bombshell). It was too tight but I thought Eh, I can mange it. No one would notice anyway (well until my legs start to turn blue) and I wasn't about to rip out all those zig zag stitches! So I'm modeling my new bikini for the hubs and I say, "What do you think?" He says, "Welllll it looks a little tight around your legs. Does that hurt?" "Well hell yes it hurts" I say, "But I didn't think anyone would notice." So off with the seam ripper I went for the next hour. I re-cut my elastic to only an inch and a half shorter than the opening for this next go around and here comes my next Doh' moment. When installing the elastic on the second leg I went to flip it under to sew a second time. I don't know what or how but I got in a hurry and didn't realize I flipped under the leg that was already finished and started sewing it for a third time. I wondered how come my sewing machine was skipping stitches and acting like a punk all of a sudden. At this point I knew I need a break because I was rushing and making totally stupid mistakes.
Fitting the top was a lot easier than the bottoms. I added the bra cups sacrificed from my old Esprit bikini. I also added the elastic after the fact when I noticed all the gaping. I don't have much but I still don't want it flying out. You'll notice the model casually strolling in the water. I really think that's all they intended for you to do in this bikini. No you don't want to grab your surf board and catch some rad waves...I don't think it would hold up for all that awesomeness.
I think this turned out well and is perfect for Florida beach lounging. After looking at the pictures I may go back and lower the waist just a tad more...what do you think?
Are you planning any swimwear this season? Take your time and have fun with it. For me it's a chance to step out of my comfort zone and play with fun, bold prints.
Oh and have you ever came across a pattern like this where what was modeled on the cover was different from the actual pattern?
36 comments
So cute!!! And yeah, I would have been super mad about the seam line differences between photo and actual pattern - boo! Oh well - still turned out adorable :) And yes, sewing swim suits in a hurry is not a good idea ;)
ReplyDeleteDespite all the pattern and elastic drama it turned out super cute. I like to sew swimwear elastic to the wrong side, then when you fold towards the wrong side you get a nice self fabric border inside.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Well done for modelling it. You look fab!! I've not come across the issue of the photo being different from the pattern but I can imagine it would be really annoying! Have a great holiday!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a perfect match of rad pattern to fierce fabric! Nice work getting past the little quirks on the way - these ,and you, look summer smashing!
ReplyDeleteLooks great Shanni!! Good luck getting all your sewing done for your trip, I'm sure you will. I have made swimsuits but haven't been brave enough to blog about it...you know posting the pics and all....
ReplyDeletePerfect! I love the print, the fit is perfect. You'll be one saucy lady at the beach this summer!!
ReplyDeleteThis is really cute! I think for some reason there's a myth out there that swimsuits are "jiffy" sews. I had the same problems with my Bombshell, trying to go quickly because aren't swimsuits fast and easy? And then I kept making dumb mistakes. Good for you to unpick a bunch of zigzag stitching...what a pain!
ReplyDeleteIt turned out FABULOUSLY! Super cute suit and super cute fabric.
ReplyDeleteI cut out Simplicity 1374 weeks ago and got scared to sew it. I am determined to get 'er done as I want to go to the lake for my birthday and that's like...9 days away!
Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a cute pattern. Reminds me of the Bombshell I made last year.
Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm sure you look fab in them!
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a bikini gal and am pretty self conscious. I'm hoping posting the pics here first will help me get over wearing it on the beach.
Thanks girlie!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm surprised that I even noticed that detail but I did.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I didn't do it that way. That's how I did it on my Bombshell. Too much in a hurry to think I guess. lol!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! Slow and steady wins the race, I keep trying to tell myself!
ReplyDeleteI make a lot of dumb mistakes. Unfortunately not only with swimsuits. lol!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing. I love how retro that fabric looks to fit the pattern. I've been procrastinating making a Bombshell for over a year now, but I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet to have something fun (stores are convinced big women want plain black or navy....I want colour....I might have to explore Fabric Fairy, because your's is so happy). Love your advice too, thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! looks super cute on you and thanks for sharing the trials and tribulations involved with sewing a bathing suit!
ReplyDeleteOh what a SUPER CUTE suit, and it looks absolutely awesome on you! I think I made this exact suit when the pattern was available in the early 70's --- sadly the decades since then means there's no way I'll be wearing it in the present, but I sure would love it if I could pull it off.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Fabric Fairy pricing (I shop there often) the fabrics are sold in half yard increments --- love that!), but the pricing is per yard (so if you order 1/2 yard it is actually half the cost stated in the listing). I frequently order both half and full yards from them because I find the lighter weight swimsuit fabrics work well to make loud lingerie (my current sewing obsession), so am quite familiar with their site / pricing :D!
Oh thank you for pointing that out! I really don't need another swimsuit but I'm so obsessed with their fabrics I want more!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! It's not hard at all if you just take your time!
ReplyDeleteThank you! The bombshell is an amazing pattern!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks so fabulous on you! You made me snicker with the pattern comment on your backside. I like the length, but I tend to like things super high, so take it with a grain of salt!
ReplyDeleteLook at you rockin' that super jiffy suit! I doubt anyone would notice the seams on the bottoms. That's so strange that they are not in the photo! Crazy! I think it all looks great as is and has a definite retro vibe.
ReplyDeleteWell, it was definitely worth the effort, you look fabulous in it! For the waistline, I like it but I prefer extra coverage in that area from a couple of bad experiences when I was younger! But it is personal preference and you should go with what feels right, you could definitely rock a lower line.
ReplyDeleteThis is ADORABLE! I really, really like it! I'm with you- I definitely prefer side seams to a crotch seam, but your seams aren't visible at all in that print. Good luck with your vacay sewing! I'm leaving on July 9th and trying to make a ton of cute stuff before I go, but I don't know if I'll get through my list.
ReplyDeleteOh! And Esprit! I loved them! I used to save up babysitting money and buy stuff from Maurices, ha!
Thank you! I think I'm gonna leave the shorts as is...mainly cuz I'm too lazy to fix now. ha!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Claire! I think I've decided to leave them as is. Don't want to risk my backside hanging out. lol
ReplyDeleteWe have a Maurices in town. Haven't been there for a long while! There used to be an outlet mall that had an Esprit in. I went crazy there once.
ReplyDelete:) Oh I can't wait to see that metallic jersey dress! Sounds interesting!!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute! I've seen this pattern before and love it even more now that I've seen it made! Thank you for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteLove the fabric!
ReplyDeleteYou look so cute! And you're much braver than me for a) sewing a swimsuit and b) modelling it on your blog :-)
ReplyDeleteI think the suit is perfection, especially that fabric!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust pinned the fabric on Pinterest haha
ReplyDelete